Making A Burnisher for Gilding

By

Randy Asplund

 

A good medieval burnisher can be made in your home in an evening. You need a head, a ferrule, a handle, and some glue. You will also need some kind of grinder like a Dremel, and wood finishing tools to shape the handle. I use Exactos, a file, and sandpaper.

THE HEAD:I have made burnishers with heads from dogtooth, hematite, and agate. The dogtooth is not so easy to get. Yes, I have a casual friend who is a vet, but of all of the teeth she gave me, only one came close. The problem is you need a good-sized canine that has a really smooth clean surface. They often have cracks that make them unsuitable. To mount a tooth, follow the carving instructions below.

For a stone burnisher, I have bought tumbled stones and they seem to work ok, if you are very selective. Look really close and make sure there are no imperfections. Even color shift seams may become edges to scratch gold. There should be enough material there for a head and also more for where you will carve the mounting tab.

The most useful shape I have found for SCA scroll gilding is about a half of an inch head that is shaped like a pointed shoe. The bend for the ankle rises up as the area where the mounting tab will be cut. The bottom, or sole will be almost flat like a shoe (err on the side of convexity) and will be the main burnishing surface. The outside edge where the sole meets the topside of the shoe should be as acute an angle as you can find so you can get all the way down into the crevice where the gilding stops at the parchment. There should be a somewhat pointed toe so you can also dig into the inside corners. If you miss areas of your gilding when you burnish, the gold may not adhere there. You will find a pointed dogtooth style burnisher will get you pretty far, but it doesn't satisfy when used alone on a wide, flat surface. There should be about a 100-degree angle (or so) between the sole of the shoe and the direction of the handle. That is to say, don't make the handle fit going straight up or it will be more difficult to use.

FERRULE: Now, with the head selected, let's make a ferrule to hold it. I use soup bone. Get a piece as thick as you can and saw out a one-inch bar with a Dremel or Exacto saw. You can use the Dremel to drill a hole through its length, which is any diameter you choose. This hole receives the tabs of the handle and the burnisher head. The walls need to be thick enough when you are done to not break under a lot of pressure. Try to make the finished walls of the ferrule at least 5/32" thick. When the hole is drilled you can then shape the bone into a smooth surfaced tube with your Dremel and a file. You might even consider decorating with scrimshaw or carving!

Now you can carve a tab on the end of the burnisher to fit tight and snug into the ferrule. Use the Dremel and grind down to create a dowel shaped shaft protruding about 3/16 or more in length. It ought to be at least 1/8 inch in diameter for strength. A medieval craftsman would cut close enough to make a very tight friction fit in the ferrule. Make the corner where the tab comes out of the stone as close to 90 degrees as possible! Do your best, but don't worry. We have a modern helper to get you through this job. It's called epoxy.

Once the tab is shaped, test fit it into the ferrule. You will soon cut a taper on this end of the ferrule so your ferrule end doesn't get in the way of burnishing due to its thickness near the head. Look at the shape and figure out an angle. I find a blunted curve near the hole preserves strength. You can now remove the stone and file the bone down to shape.

THE HANDLE: Get a hardwood dowel as big around as the ferrule. It should be cut to a length as long as a pencil. You can carve it if you like to have a little surface texture and make it pretty. Like the stone, you will cut a tab to go into the other end of the ferrule. That is why we use hardwood. Otherwise the tab would be weak and may break under use. You should also give the handle a gentle taper to its back tip so it fits your hand well. MAKE IT SYMETRICAL! The burnisher will be rotated in your hand in use. The medieval craftsman could varnish now. It is a good idea because it keeps the wood from changing size in humidity, however, if you are adhering the component parts with epoxy, consider this alternative:

Putting the parts together with epoxy is easy. The only real danger is being careful about not getting any epoxy on the burnisher head. Mask it! I use 5-minute epoxy and I set up a clothespin clamp to grab the HEAD and hold the whole thing up from the table as it sets. After test fitting all three parts, mix up enough epoxy to fill the ferrule hole AND to coat the entire handle. You will use it instead of varnish. Next, go ahead and fill the ferrule with the epoxy and stuff the stone in. With a twisting motion, add the handle to the other side, but make sure that the epoxy can flow out. It needs to be full, but not under pressure. Now the epoxy has oozed out the joints, wipe it up onto your handle and smooth on a thin coat with the extra you made. JUST the handle. Keep the epoxy off the stone head (which is masked). If you are quick enough go to the steps directly, the epoxy surface will be very smooth when it sets.

Now you can place it in the clothespin vertically (so it doesn't set drooping). If you used 5-minute epoxy and a thin surface application, it shouldn't run and drip. Let it cure overnight. Voila! These and other burnishers need to be 100% clean in order to work. Use a very soft cloth for cleaning off oils. Keep them in a clean, soft cloth and then guard them against any chipping. If you are extreme you might make a little beanbag rest to lay the head on when you are laying it down during use.